Read My Heart
by kally05bangel4ever
Summary: AU. Buffy can read minds. Angel's a new kid who's hiding something. Faith is a slayer, and everyone who knew about Buffy being the slayer in Season 2 of BtVS knows about Faith now. Buffy has a huge secret that only her best friends know. dundundun...
1. The New Kid

  
Title: Read My Heart

  
Author: sokkerblondie005

  
Disclaimer: In the first couple of chapters, I own no one. Joss is the Master of all Evils. (and their king.) Sadly, none of these are mine(alto if u'll sell... I'm open! I'll fix their sad lives and make everything all better!)

  
Spoilers: None. It's AU.

  
Rating: It changes as we go. Uhhhh... for now, let's leave it at G.

  
Summary: AU. Buffy is a mind reader. Angel's a new kid with a secret. Faith is a slayer, and they are the scoobies. But.... Buffy's gift has a price.

  
Extras: The couples are like they were in S2. B/A, W/O, C/X, J/G, and there's one exception. But u'll get that later.

  
    The test was easy; she'd finished with time to spare. She looked around the room, watching the progress of others on the test. She quickly became bored with the people watching and decided to look. 

*Hmmmm. I'll tackle Melanie first.* The African-American teenager was thinking about the upcoming dance. Allyson, a gorgeous redhead, was thinking about the new guy. 

*Oooooh. Cutie. I'll have to check him out myself.* She searched around in other people's heads, and finding nothing interesting, went to her friend Xander's. He was sitting in his desk, flopped over the test, and looking at it like it was gonna kill him.

She let herself loose in him. *Pi = what?* He thought. *Ohhhh. Pie = yummy….Pi –*all of a sudden, his head jerked up, and she was trying to figure out what had happened, when his voice yelled, *Get out, Buffy!*

She looked over at him to see that he was glaring at her. 

*You know I'm here?* she asked him mind to mind, amazed that it was possible to communicate that way.

*Yes, you moron. Now, if you're gonna stay here, at least be useful and tell me what kind of pie they're talking about. Pecan, pumpkin, or key lime?* She rolled her eyes at his ridiculous question, adding *How did you make it to 10th grade?*, as she told him the answer.

*3.14? Never heard of that kind. Is it good?* She was about to reply when the bell rang, making her jump and jolting her out of Xander's brain. She gathered up her books and followed her friend out into the hall, quickly meeting up with Willow. The redhead was awed that Buffy could communicate mind-to-mind with her friends, and whined because they hadn't said anything to her in class.

"If you're gonna do that, tell me. I think it'd be cool! I can't believe you didn't tell me." She pouted for a minute, but she grinned the second her boyfriend, Oz joined the group. As he wrapped his arms around his girl, she giggled, and they wandered off, Willow calling back, "See you in history!", just as Faith appeared, with Cordelia sauntering over to talk to Xander.

"Hey, B! What's up?" Faith asked, parking herself next to Buffy. *****Nothing*** **Buffy replied mind to mind, and Faith's eyes widened. 

"So cool! When did you learn that move?"

"Last period. Have you seen the new guy?" Buffy asked.

"Oh yeah. How can you miss him? The boy is _fine_. Have you?" The slender blonde shook her head, and Faith winked at her.

"So how'd the patrolling go last night?" Xander asked, despite Cordelia's attempts to distract him.

"Good. Got four vamps. Didn't even break a sweat. Not much with the busy, though. Hey, B. Are you okay? After the whole Parker thing?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. God, guys are such-" She stopped. As she entered the classroom, the most gorgeous guy in the school sat in the empty seat right next to hers. She froze in her spot, staring, and Faith had to push her to get her out of the doorway. 

*Whoa! Why didn't you say….Whoa!* ****

*I told you so.* Faith laughed. Buffy took her seat and nervously turned to introduce herself.

"Hi. I'm Buffy." She smiled, a little smile.

"Nice to meet you. Angel." He reached over and shook her hand. 

*God his hands are huge!* She thought.*He's gorgeous.* His brown hair spiked, his arm muscles rippled as he shook her hand. He had on a duster and a white wife beater, and she assumed he had pants that emphasized his legs too. She looked over at Faith, who grinned and Buffy entered her head.

*Uh-oh! Go Buffy! He's cute, no? Get 'em, girl.*

*Shut up, Faith. I just met the boy.*

*Yeah. And he's already fallin' for you. Check it out!*

*No! No, Faith. I'm never gonna read his head. No. That's wrong. I don't know him, and I can't invade his privacy like that.*

*But you don't have a prob with any of us!*

*Y'all all know I can do that. No, Faith. I… I couldn't. Not with him.*


	2. The Dare

TITLE: Part Two of "Read My Heart"

AUTHOR: sokkerblondie005 (duh. If ur reading this, u should kno. Just look up.)

DISCLAIMER: My all-time favorite disclaimer----- I own nothing. Joss is the Master of all Evils. (And he's their king.) Sadly, none of these are mine (although if you'll sell... I'll buy!! I'll fix their sad lives and make everything all better!)

SPOILERS: This is AU, there are none.

RATING: PG, for language. (stop asking me to do this, I suck!)

SUMMARY: AU. Buffy is a mind reader. Angel's a new kid with a secret. Faith is a slayer, and they are the scoobies. But.... Buffy's gift has a price.

EXTRAS: Couples here are B/A, W/O, C/X, J/G, and an exception. But that comes later. Uhhhh…Two weeks have passed, Angel fell for Buffy, Buffy fell for Angel. Blah blah blah. I'm sorry this took so long!

About two weeks after her initial meeting with Angel, Buffy had fallen completely head over heels for him. One Thursday night, at a sleepover with Willow, Faith, and Cordelia, the four girls were playing Truth or Dare. It was Faith's turn to dare someone, and she dared Buffy to do the one thing no girl should ever have to do.

"Buffy, I dare you to…ask Angel out." The brunette said, laughing when the blonde's mouth fell open. And there was no way to get out of it. Though Buffy begged and pleaded, she could not get the slayer to back down.

So, the next day, after avoiding Angel all day, she finally had to do the dare. It was right after last period, when Faith came up to her. Slapping Buffy on the butt, she said, "Get 'em!"

So Buffy walked up to Angel, inwardly cringing at his rejection, or what she assumed would be so.

"Angel? I was kinda wondering…if…ya know…you wanted to hang out…maybe at the Bronze…?"

"Uhhh…" His face was completely blank. 

"Never mind. Bye." She blushed bright pink and went to turn away when he grabbed her forearm. Spinning around, she turned to face him.

"I'd love to." He told her, and she grinned, her knees turning to jelly. She didn't know that his insides were melting at that brilliant smile. She nodded and told him she'd meet him there.

Walking away, she saw Faith, Willow, and Cordy peeking out of an empty classroom.

"Faith!" She groaned, knowing it was her idea to spy on Buffy and Angel. The slayer tapped her head and Buffy quickly jumped inside.

*What's up? *

*Sooooo. What'd he say? *

*Aren't you just dying to know. You sat there watching, and you don't even know? Geez, Faith. Your lip reading starting to suck. Much.*

*Buffy!*

*Duh! He said yes. Actually, he said he'd love to, but-* The two girls were so close that they started talking out loud.

"See? I told you! He really likes you!"

The girls continued talking as Angel turned around, grinning like an idiot, abandoning his famous half-smiles for a full blown grin. He didn't see Riley peeking out of another uninhabited classroom. Nor did he see the "Fish Boy's" reaction to the whole ordeal. Angel was so happy, he ran straight into Spike while walking in his daze. The two boys had quickly become friends, along with Xander and Oz in their group.

"Hey, man! Watch it!" Spike protested.

"Sorry." Angel muttered.

"What's got you so happy Peaches? I've never seen you smile before." As Spike looked in the direction of Angel's gaze, he said, "Ah. So you finally asked Fluffy out? And I take it she said yes?"

"Her name isn't Fluffy, Peroxide Boy. It's Buffy. And no, I didn't ask her out. She asked me." Angel growled at the bleached blond Englishman. "What do I do?"

"What do you mean, what do you do? You've never gone on a date before?" When Angel shook his head, he continued. "But you've had plenty of girls- don't tell me they were screw and dump!" Angel didn't say anything and Spike shook his head. He took Angel to his house and helped him look suitable, neither boy knowing that Buffy was having similar problems two blocks away.

  
                            * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  

  
***b/a always***: No, Buffy is not a slayer too. Just Faith. And maybe someone else.

***Kat461***: I don't get what u mean by my " sentences could be joined much better". Could u plz explain?

THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE FOR REVIEWING!:

charisma

KaT

Kathleen

Dreamer Child

Danielle218

Tariq

Urangel

Please review!(and keep doing so!) If u have any questions, just ask! I'm working on writing the next chappies, so sorry for taking so long!


	3. Parker

TITLE: Read My Heart

AUTHOR: sokkerblondie005 (duh. If ur reading this, u should kno. Just look up.)

DISCLAIMER: My all-time favorite disclaimer----- I own nothing. Joss is the Master of all Evils. (And he's their king.) Sadly, none of these are mine (although if you'll sell... I'll buy!! I'll fix their sad lives and make everything all better!) And I don't own that song... I forgot the name. But it's depressing and it's about a guy on his first date with a gurl and they get in an accident and she dies. That's kinda what the flashback is based on.

SPOILERS: This is AU, so there really shouldn't be any spoilers, now should there?

RATING: PG, for language. (stop asking me to do this, I suck!)

SUMMARY: AU. Buffy is a mind reader. Angel's a new kid with a secret. Faith is the only slayer, and all of the originals (Xander, Willow, Cordy, Oz) are the scoobies. But.... Buffy's gift has a price. And she has a secret.

EXTRAS: Couples here are B/A, W/O, C/X, J/G, and an exception in an otherwise normal 2nd season ship story. But that comes later. Uhhhh…Two weeks have passed, Angel fell for Buffy, Buffy fell for Angel. Blah blah blah. I'm sorry this took so long! Oh, basically, the couples are like they were in S2, but a few people who weren't around then are around now. Ummmm....THOUGHTS ARE IN ITALICS!

* * *

He was nervous. And it wasn't just that he was going to the Bronze with Buffy. He had a big crush on her, but that was majorly outweighed by a memory. Or... a nightmare. The last time he'd picked up a girl he liked for a date, it hadn't gone well for anyone. At all.

Flash Back

"Bye Mom! Bye, Dad!" Kate waved to her parents and ran down the front steps to Angel's car. Well, it was his dad's car, but it would be Angel's someday. The date started off well; on the drive they talked with no awkward pauses or anything. But then, it happened. A car was stalled in the road straight ahead, its engine was dead.

Angel couldn't stop so he turned to the right, into a ditch. He'd never forget what he heard. The tires squealed, glass shattered, and a high pitched scream echoed through the car. Then, silence. And the world went black.

End Flashback

_Don't panic, Angel. It was a freak accident. Don't flip out._ Angel thought. He let out his breath and turned on the car, praying that nothing would go wrong. He drove very slowly on the way to picking up Buffy.

"Bye, Mom!" Buffy yelled as she walked down the front steps, waving at the window behind her. Just like Kate had. Angel gulped and took a deep breath, hoping it wasn't an omen.

She looked gorgeous in super-low rise jeans and a baby blue halter. Her hair was loose and wavy around her shoulders, curling down her bare back. Angel thought she looked heavenly. (AN: Get it? Angel, heavenly. LOL- Not funny.) She stood there, blinking at him.

_Is something wrong? She doesn't like my shirt? I told Spike-_

"Do I have the wrong car?" She asked, grinning and sliding into the car. When Angel still looked confused, she explained, "I'm kidding, Angel. I meant that you looked so good that I was wondering if I was in the right place."

"Oh." He grinned, having finally gotten the blonde's joke. The two continued to laugh and joke until Buffy asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, why would it be?" he asked, looking at himself nervously to check that nothing was wrong.

"You're just...No offense, but you drive really slow." Angel's eyes shot to the speedometer. He was going 15 mph.

"Uh, nothing. Sorry, not paying attention." He sped up to 30, but wasn't comfortable. Finally, they got to the Bronze, and Angel was thankful that nothing bad had happened. They quickly began dancing and having fun.

Until Parker showed up.

"Hey, Buffy." He tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, jumped about a foot in the air, and quickly stepped back into Angel's arms.

"H- Hi, Parker. Do you know my date, Angel? He's big, and tough, and-" Angel silenced the blonde and shook Parker's hand. She shuddered, remembering...

"Ok, well, bye." Angel said after a short conversation with Parker, and steered Buffy out of the Bronze and back to his car. Once comfortably seated, he asked, "Buffy are you ok? You're as white as a sheet!"

"Oh, I'm fine." She said, shaking, and obviously lying. "It's just, Parker and I have a...history." She rubbed her shoulder vigorously where Parker had touched her. "Can you take me to Will's?"

_Oh, great. She wants to go to another guy's house. _He scowled, and Buffy realized what he must have thought.

_It's a lot harder not being able to read him! _She thought to herself.

"Will_ow_. I call her Wills."

_Oh, good. _Angel sighed inaudibly, releasing a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

So Angel took her to Willow's house and left, worrying about her. Obviously, Parker freaked her out. Buffy kept a smile plastered on her face until Angel left, and she thought he wouldn't notice that anything was wrong. But as soon as the door to Willow's room closed, Buffy burst into tears. Willow hugged her immediately, asking her what happened.

"I-i-i r-ran into P-" She stopped, unable to talk through her tears.

"Peter?" Willow asked, and Buffy shook her head. Willow, unlike Buffy, couldn't read minds.

"P. P? Whose name starts with a P that would upset you that bad?" Suddenly she gasped. "Parker?" Buffy covered her ears and wailed.

"Oh, God, Buffy. Let me go-"

"No! No leaving me alone! He could come and- and-" she melted into tears. Willow got her mom to bring the phone to her room and the redhead called Faith and Cordy.

"911. At Will's. Now." she told them and hung up.

Saying "911 At 's. Now." means "Hurry your ass up and get here, cuz somethin's up!"

The two arrived in five minutes and raced up the stairs. They opened Willow's door to see Willow sitting on her bed with Buffy curled up against the headboard, tears making rivers down her cheeks. Willow tried to touch Buffy, but she scooted away.

When the brunettes got the story Willow knew, both gasped. Buffy collapsed into tears again and all four girls huddled in a pile, each comforting the tiny blonde in the middle with their own "comfort" source.

* * *

buffynangelforever - the whole point of this story is to keep u guessing! What do u think happened?


	4. The Phone Call

TITLE: Part Four of "Read My Heart"

AUTHOR: sokkerblondie005 (duh. If you're reading this, u should know. Just look up.)

DISCLAIMER: My all-time favorite disclaimer----- I own nothing. Joss is the Master of all Evils. (And he's their king.) Sadly, none of these are mine (although if you'll sell... I'll buy!! I'll fix their sad lives and make everything all better!). But anyways, yeah. I don't own this and you don't own that. How unfair can this world get?

SPOILERS: This is AU, so there are none.

RATING: PG, for violence. (Stop asking me to do this, I suck!)

SUMMARY: AU. Buffy is a mind reader. Angel's a new kid with a secret. Faith is a slayer, and Willow, Oz, Xander, Cordy, Buffy, Spike, Giles, and Jenny are the Scoobies. But.... Buffy's gift has a price. And there are other twists that I make up as I go along. Muhaha. This is the best part of being the author!

EXTRAS: Couples in here are B/A, W/O, C/X, J/G, like they were in Season 2 and there's an exception for characters that weren't known of in S2. But that comes later. Uhhhh?Buffy left during her and Angel's date, freaking out, she went to Willow's and freaked out there too and Angel is confuzzled. I think that's where we left off. Blah blah blah. I'm sorry this took so long, y'all! My computer had a virus and I haven't been able to get online in forever!!

After a half hour of comforting the tiny blonde, the girls all decided to stay the night together again. Buffy slowly got herself under control and the other three went about getting ready for another sleepover at Willow's.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tiny Hellmouth-y town, Angel was nervously pacing his room. He was actually having a hard time doing so, because the boxes full of his stuff from LA were in his way with every other step. After the fifth time he hit a box, he decided to call Spike, Xander, and Oz.

As soon as the four of them were on the line he began to speak, hurrying his tale along until he came to the important part. "We were having a good time and all, when all of a sudden this dude comes up. He, like, tapped Buffy on the shoulder, and when she turned around she almost jumped out of her skin. She, like, backed up into me and literally shrank away from him. She was totally freaking out and I have no idea what was so wrong. The dude gave off this weird feeling though. I really didn't like him.

"But anyways, I got her out of there, and she started shaking. First it was her hands, and then her whole body was violently swaying. She kept rubbing her shoulder where he'd touched her, too, like she wanted to, like, get the feeling of him touching her off of her. I took her to Willow's right after and I guess that's where she is now." He stopped, and Xander and Oz gasped almost simultaneously.

"Oz, there's no way man. He wouldn't-"Xander began.

"You never know, dude. It coulda been." Oz spoke.

"But-" Xander stopped, at a loss for words.

"Hey, Angel?" Oz asked after a couple of seconds of strained silence.

"Yeah?"

"Did you catch this guy's name, man?" He questioned, nearly using up his word quota for the day.

"Uhhh? I think so. It was, like, Peter, or Parker. Yeah, Parker." He replied, and Xander immediately freaked out.

"Oh my God are you freakin' serious? I- I totally gotta go to Willow's. I'll catch you guys later." He told them and hung up milliseconds after.

"What the bloody hell was that all about, mate?" Spike said, speaking for the first time in the conversation.

"I don't know." Angel told him, completely confused. "Oz? Do you know?" The multi-color-haired boy was silent (surprise surprise!) immediately leading Angel to the conclusion that Oz knew something.

"Oz!" He hissed.

"I? I'm sorry. I'm not sure I should be the one to? tell you what happened. You'll just have to ask Buffy." He told them quietly. Angel roared and slammed his hand into his bed, only slightly muffling the thud.

"What the hell happened?" Angel growled, trying to control his temper while trying to scare Oz into telling him.

"I can't tell you. You'll have to ask Buffy." Oz told Angel, not the least bit scared or intimidated.

"Fine, then I will." Angel bit off, slamming the phone in its cradle. Oz quietly hung up, leaving Spike all alone on the line.

"'Ello?"


	5. Freak Out

TITLE: Part Five of "Read My Heart"

  
AUTHOR: sokkerblondie005 (duh. If you're reading this, u should know. Just look up.)

DISCLAIMER: My all-time favorite disclaimer----- I own nothing. Joss is the Master of all Evils. (And he's their king.) Sadly, none of these are mine (although if you'll sell... I'll buy!! I'll fix their sad lives and make everything all better!). But anyways… yeah. I don't own this, and you don't own that. How unfair can this world get?

SPOILERS: This is AU, so I really don't think there are any.

  
RATING: PG, for violence. (Stop asking me to do this, I suck at rating things!!)

SUMMARY: AU. Buffy is a mind reader. Angel's a new kid with a secret. Faith is the slayer, and Willow, Oz, Xander, Cordy, Buffy, Spike, Giles, and Jenny are the Scoobies. But... Buffy's gift has a price. And there are other twists that I make up as I go along. Mwahaha. This is the best part of being the author! Oh, and Buffy has the biggest secret of all.

EXTRAS: Couples in here are B/A, W/O, C/X, J/G, like they were in Season 2 and there's an exception for characters that weren't known about in S2. But that comes later. Uhhhh…Angel called Oz, Xander, and Spike to talk about what happened at his and Buffy's date. Which was freakage much. Angel freaked out and went all growly. So now he's pissed and dangerous. Bad mix.

Oh, and aren't y'all proud of me for getting this up less than 2 weeks after my last update? I know, I'm good. Bow before me! LoL!

After Oz hung up the phone with Xander, Spike, and Angel he quickly called Willow's house.

"Hello?" She said into the phone.

"Will? It's me. Um…somethin's up." He told her. She quietly walked into another room, farther away from the other three girls.

"It's Angel, isn't it?" She asked, trying to keep her voice down so the other girls wouldn't hear. But with her excelled slayer hearing, Faith heard and excused herself from the presence of her blonde and brunette friends to find out what was up.

"Yeah. The boy's pissed as hell. He freaked out 'cause Xander and me wouldn't tell him about… you know." Oz murmured, and a dark look crossed Willow's face.

"Did he guess anything?" She quietly replied, and Faith began asking questions.

"Angel? He knows? Did Buffy say anything?" Faith interrupted at the same time as Oz said, "No." Willow held one finger up to Faith, signaling her to hold on a minute while she continued the questioning of her boyfriend.

"But he, like, started yelling and stuff. Much with the violence. He was really mad that we wouldn't tell him what was going on." Oz told her.

"Okay, well, just make sure you and Xander and Spike don't say anything, okay? It's Buffy's deal. She needs to be the one to tell him." Willow said, and instantly froze, trying to clear her mind. "No." She whispered, seemingly talking to the air. "No! Stop it! Now!" She yelled, startling Faith.

"Willow? What's wrong? What is it?" Oz asked, worried for his girl's safety.

"She- She's trying to read me- Oz, I'll talk to you later!" Willow said through clenched teeth. She dropped the phone and collapsed to the ground. As quickly as it had happened, Willow stood up and charged into the room that Buffy and Cordelia were sitting in. Buffy's face had gone chalk white and Cordy was trying to wake her out of her trance.

"What happened?" Faith asked urgently, hurrying in behind the Wicca, after having hung up the connection and dropping it down in its cradle.

"She- She read me- My head. Buffy, he doesn't know. Buffy, he's not mad at you." Willow pleaded, rushing towards the petite person on the bed. She grabbed Buffy's shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. "Buffy-"

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Violently. Buffy came out of her trance gasping, and she started shaking with fear. "It's him! Parker! I know it!" She sputtered. The doorbell kept ringing, and Buffy kept shaking and sobbing.

Willow ran to answer the front door, and Buffy screamed, "No!" So Faith sprinted after the redhead, only partly reassuring the screaming girl.

Willow wrenched the front door open, Faith appearing right behind her, ready to go Slayer-licious and kick some Parker-ass. The two were nearly beheaded by Angel, who had raised his hand to pound on the front door.

"Angel!" Willow gasped. "What are you-" She stepped aside as Angel dashed into her house.

"Where's. Buffy." Angel growled, glaring at the two of them and looking around Willow's downstairs rooms anxiously. Suddenly he stopped making noise and cocked his head to the right. He heard Buffy's muffled cries and yells and he sprinted for the stairs.

TBC- Sorry for the cliff!

Thanks for reviewing!

James Lee - I did, r u happy? g

mz.sarJe - I'll never tell… U'll find out soon

youngandhopeless1 – I kno, that's how I came up wit the idea. I had 2 leave someone hangin, and Spike just fit! LoL

Danielle218 – watch ur language! J/P. ummmm read and review! And email me u loser! Hey, rn't u 1 of my favorite authors? Cool, huh?

Angelic Evility – thanks! I like it 2! LoL!

Lucy6 – hey, ur like, 1 of my fave authors! Is this soon enough 4 ya? I kno, not much with the details, but hey. That's the point, huh?

Urangel – thanks! I did! So here it is!

Me-Spike-4eva – no offense, but I don't like ur name. Spike's just 2 skinny. But hey, u can have him. I'll have my sweet and good-flavored Angel. Yummy.

badslayer14 – Wow guys1 I fell luved!

kat461 – I just luv u! U keep sending good reviews! Thanks!


	6. Tough Times

Title: Read My Heart, Part 6

Author: sokkerblondie005Disclaimer: In the first couple of chapters, I own no one. Joss is the Master of all Evils. (And their king.) Sadly, none of these are mine (although if you'll sell... I'm open! I'll fix their sad lives and make everything all better!)Spoilers: None. It's AU.Rating: It changes as we go. Uhhhh... for now, let's leave it at PG-13, for mentions of depression and rape.Summary: AU. Buffy is a mind reader. Angel's a new kid with a secret. Faith is a slayer, and they are the scoobies. But... Buffy's gift has a price.Extras: The couples are like they were in S2. B/A, W/O, C/X, J/G, and there's one exception. But you'll get that later. Oh, and anything in >>> these things is a thought. OK? Ok. ??????????????????

"No! Angel, don't-" Willow dashed after the huge teenager, trying to stop him. As Willow sprinted away, while trying to close the front door, Faith was nearly bowled over by a sprinting, red-cheeked Xander.

"Nice to see you too." She called after the second dark-haired boy racing up the stairs. She closed the door before anyone else could run her over and turned to follow Xander up the stairs.

Angel burst into Willow's room and looked frantically around for Buffy. Cordelia jumped up from the bed, prepared to defend Buffy against Parker, when she saw who it was that had barged in. Buffy was huddled under a blanket and some pillows, pressing herself up into the headboard of the bed.

It took Angel a second to register this and then Willow, Xander, and Faith came bursting in.

"Angel, what-" Cordelia started, only to be cut off by Willow. Angel! She doesn't need-- go! You aren't helping!" She continued to protest, but her angry words fell on deaf ears. She tried to push him out of the room, but he just growled and wouldn't budge.

Angel croaked. "What's... wrong with her? Why is she...so scared?" Buffy squeaked and pulled the covers over her head. Angel's eyes filled with tears.

>>>Is this because of me?>>> He thought. >>>Did I do this to her?>>> Angel moved closer to the bed and Buffy flinched. He stopped and looked pleadingly at Willow, begging her to tell him that it wasn't his fault that she was like this.

"She's not like this 'cause of you." Xander said quietly, making Angel's wish come true. But Angel didn't believe him.

"Sit on the bed, very carefully. Don't touch her unless she lets you. If you do, she might attack you. She doesn't know who you are right now. She can't think straight." Willow shakily told Angel. He took tiny steps towards the bed and gently sat on it.

"Buffy?" Angel's voice cracked. "Baby? It's me. It's just Angel." She slowly moved the blanket, uncovered her eyes, and upon seeing him, she cried out and latched onto him, sobbing.

"Oh, Buffy. I'm so sorry, baby. I don't know what to do. I can't help you, because I don't know what's wrong." He murmured, gently smoothing her hair and caressing her back.

>>Just do what you?re doing>>> Buffy thought. >>>Hold me and protect me from the world. Just let me pretend that everything?s ok, just for a minute. And nothing will ever be wrong again.>>>


End file.
